Mass and/or Geometry Centered Golf Clubs

ABSTRACT

A golf club includes a head and a shaft coupled to the head. The shaft is positioned so that an axis of the shaft intersects at or near a center of mass of the head.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/226,061 filed on Jul. 16, 2009, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Playing golf well requires hitting the ball consistently. Current golf club designs make this difficult because of the distance between the attachment point of the shaft to the club head and the center of the club head. Common problems induced by this current design concept include the inability to align the club along the line of flight, slices or hooks caused by the balls sidewise rotation, inconsistent distance and accuracy, and inconsistency from the rough because of unequal drag between club face and shaft.

There are a number of ways to attach a club head to the shaft of a golf club, all of which have been developed over centuries of experience. All have one common and significant defect, in that the shaft is attached so that the axis of the shaft is offset from the center of the club head. The predominant, nearly exclusive, point of attachment of the shaft to club head is at the nearest edge of the head, which creates a lever arm between the pivot point, the attachment point of the shaft to the club, and the point at which the club strikes the ball. This results in inconsistent and sub-optimal performance.

SUMMARY

A golf club includes a head and a shaft coupled to the head. The shaft is positioned so that an axis of the shaft intersects at or near a center of mass of the head.

The details of one or more techniques are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of these techniques will be apparent from the description, drawings, and claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a golf club.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the golf club of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to a range of golf clubs, including woods and hybrid clubs, as defined by the United States Golf Associate (USGA) definitions of these clubs. In the examples described herein, performance improvements are created by constructing or manufacturing the club by attaching the shaft to the club head so that the axis of the shaft, or the centerline of the axis of the shaft, if extended, will pass through or close to a center of the mass and/or geometry of the club head.

In this example design, the center of the mass of the club head is at or near the geometric center, and the centerline of the shaft axis passes through the center of mass of the club head for the club. This design can be applied to woods and hybrids and any clubs having the body characteristics of woods, defined by the USGA as a club where the head is relatively broad from face to back, and can be made from a variety of materials.

In examples, the shaft is attached to the head by any of a variety of means (epoxy, brazing etc) to allow the shaft axis passes through or near the center of mass of the club head.

For example, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an example golf club 100 is shown. The golf club 100 is a wood and includes a head 110 and a shaft 120. The shaft 120 is attached to the head at an attachment point 112.

In this example, the shaft 120 is positioned so that an axis L running longitudinally through the shaft 120 intersects or passes near a center of mass CM of the head 110. In the example shown, the shaft 120 is positioned at an angle A of 59.5 degrees relative to horizontal, although other angles could be used.

In this example, the head 110 of the golf club 100 has a 21 degree loft and weighs 240 grams. The head has a length of 105 mm and a width of 53 mm in one embodiment, and a length of 100 mm and a width of 56 mm in another embodiment. Other example dimensions can include: L1=82 or 86 mm; L2=34 or 32 mm; L3=51 or 50 mm; and L4=7 mm. The attachment point 112 can include an outer diameter of 12.1±0.1 mm, and an inner diameter of 9.5±0.05 mm, and a hold depth of 36±1 mm.

These dimensions are examples only. Clubs of different dimensions, such as other woods and hybrid clubs, can be used.

In a configuration as described herein, one or more of the following improvements can be realized:

-   -   (1) the energy from the swing of the club may be transferred to         the ball with a minimum of energy loss or direction loss which         might otherwise be caused by misalignment, or rotational         transfer, and may result in a maximum possible accuracy;     -   (2) the club face is easier to position visually at right angles         to the intended line of flight, so that angular errors in         alignment due to parallax error may be reduced since the         distance from the pivot point to the end of the clubface is         reduced; and     -   (3) flight errors such as slices or hooks may be similarly         reduced.

In addition, the center of mass designed clubs appears to permit controlled draws or fades much more easily than with conventional clubs.

Another result of this design is a more accurate shot from a lie where the ball is off the fairway and lying in deep grass. With a conventional club, it can be difficult to strike the ball accurately due to the effect of the grass in producing an unequal moment of torque and unequal drag on the shaft and the face of the club, causing the club to turn as it goes through the grass. The center of mass centered club will minimize these unequal effects, thereby producing a much straighter, more accurate shot.

By using woods configured as described herein, it is believed that golfers will be less subject to randomness caused by the variation in torque, drag, parallax errors and other problems.

The various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limiting. Various modifications and changes that may be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the true spirit and scope of the disclosure. 

1. A wood golf club, comprising: a head; and a shaft coupled to the head; wherein the shaft is positioned so that an axis of the shaft intersects a center of mass of the head.
 2. The wood golf club of claim 1, wherein the shaft extends at a 59.5 degree angle relative to horizontal. 